Two Faces?

We have found that the use of illusions are often helpful to illustrate various complex ideas about how the brain functions.

Look at the picture. What happens?

This is a picture of half of a human face. Your brain quickly reacts to this incomplete pattern by turning the face sideways – which, to it, makes more sense. To continue looking at the half face photo would mean the brain is not allowed to do its work of completing the pattern. Sometimes the brain is so anxious to make sense of the world around it, it will add or subtract information in order to satisfy this desire to predict thereby – better ensuring its continued existence.

Because our brain’s primary directive is to keep us alive, many of its functions underscore this drive. In order to stay alive, it is helpful to be able to anticipate what is going to happen next. Our brains are constantly and continuously trying to predict what will happen, next words, next actions, in an attempt to be prepared in a response. A extension of this is the need to complete patterns.